5 Words And Counting

Summer is saying 5 distinct words now! I'm so happy that I get to watch her learn to talk. I'm so happy that one of her words is "mama" and I get to be the one she's talking about when she says that. Her five words (in order of development) are: mama, dada, uh-oh, buh-bye, no. She can also sign: more, please, thank you and her version of "I love you" which is to blow kisses. She has learned several animal sounds this month including: cat, dog, fish, monkey, giraffe, bird and lion-tiger-bear (same sound).

Some cute things she does: She loves to play jailbirds with daddy and the other kids. She runs around the couch and screams with them and its so cute seeing her be engaged in the big kid games. She knows how to clean up. Whenever she spills her cup of water she says "uh-oh" and then goes to get a towel to clean it up. She is the best "hang up your jacket" rule follower in the family. When we come in the house Austin and Ruthie will strip off their shoes and jackets on the way to the living room and drop them wherever. But Summer will stop in the mud room and hold up her foot until I come to take her shoes and jacket off. She tries to enforce this rule with anyone who comes over. As soon as they come through the door she starts trying to help them get their coat off. It's cute; it's as if she's saying, "Hi friend. Take off your jacket and stay a while!"

Ruthie Turned 4

This happens every year to my cute little Ruthie. Having a birthday in November means that her birthday post ends up getting neglected until after the hub-bub of the holidays has settled down. This year has been especially crazy with my mom's passing and my cancer. So here it is March and I'm just getting to it. Kids change so fast at these early ages that she's already a different little person than she was 4 months ago!

Let's start with the birthday celebration. I didn't have a whole lot of energy for a big creative bash like I did for Austin just a few months prior, but even with a simple party we still had a great time. Ruthie's chosen theme was a princess party.

She invited the 4 girls from her playgroup.

Ivy, Claire, Ruthie, Emma, Ava

Activities included:

Pin the crown on Ariel.

Princess Dressup.

Princess cupcakes.

I think we threw in a little princess dancing and some present opening too. And that was about it! Then it was just regular playgroup time. But still great stuff.

Ruthie also had a fun party with her cousins.

Aunt Heather made this fun princess cake!

 Some birthday gifts included:

A princess scooter and helmet from Mom and Dad.

A makeup set she selected with her birthday money from Oma and Opa.

And now for my favorite part of any birthday post. I little snapshot of my cute little gal's personality!

Ruthie's favorites:
Color: purple and pink
TV show: Curious George and Wild Kratts
Movie: Ariel
Friend: Emma and Tyce (and the other playgroup girls)
Food: candy!, cereal, ketchup, fish sticks, cucumber, raspberries, strawberry oatmeal
Candy: popsicles and m&ms
Toy: dressups and makeup
Book: Magic Tree House (this is a new discovery this month)
Ride at Disneyland: Ariel
Song: "ABCDEFG, Gummy bears are chasing me. One is red, One is blue, One is peeing on my shoe. Now I'm running for my life because the red one has a knife"
Place to go: the store
Computer game: whatever Austin is playing on the PBS Kids or Disney sites

This little lady is definitely more of a little lady than I remember being at her age. While she's not "girly" she does enjoy wearing skirts, donning dressups and covering herself in chapstick and nail polish (although she resists me combing her hair!). She is still my little sidekick and loves being my shopping buddy and cooking buddy. She loves to dance, make silly faces and win me over with her big brown eyes.

She is a great sister and plays equally well with Austin and Summer. She and Summer recently developed a new game Ruthie calls "Monster Tag." Ruthie runs and hides, Summer chases and finds her then they both scream and Ruthie runs away again. Ruthie's favorite game to play with Daddy is Jail Birds, where Daddy chases the kids around the couch and tries to catch them.

Ruthie and Austin have much more imaginative games playing out all the roles they see around them. They'll pretend to be Buzz Lightyear, the Wild Kratts, Jack and Annie from Magic Tree House, pet and owner, etc. While they may fight everyday, their fights are much more tame than they used to be a year ago. At this very moment, these two are watching a Buzz Lightyear movie and arguing over who gets to eat the last of the Marshmallow Mateys.

A couple of the big things I hope we improve this next year are 1) reducing Ruthie's sugar supply and getting her to eat a good dinner and 2) breaking the thumb sucking habit and 3) learning to read in preschool this fall.

In all honesty, I rejoice everyday that I get to be associated with this beautiful young lady. Her friendship and her humor absolutely delight me. She is a pretty easy kid to raise and a whole lot of fun to be around. She is a leader in her little playgroup and I can envision having a socialite on my hands as she grows up - which makes me want to cherish the time that I get to play with her all the more!